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2009-11-21

2009-11-18

2009-11-05

Agriculture

Lifestyles

Monday, September 14, 2009 11:20 AM

Report: Free, reduced lunch programs help local families

Number of Franklin County youth receiving aid continues to grow

By VICKIE MOSS, Herald Public Affairs Editor

Tony Salah and his 10-year-old daughter moved to Ottawa just a couple of months ago.

He works in Lawrence, doing landscaping and mowing jobs, but money is tight.

When he enrolled his daughter at Lincoln Elementary School, staff made sure he had an opportunity to apply for free or reduced-price lunches. His daughter qualified for free lunches and breakfasts.

“That’s a really good program,” he said. “It helps me quite a bit.”

Salah, a single parent whose daughter has lived with him for the past three years, said he could not afford to pay full price for school lunches.

In the Ottawa School District, the full price of breakfast at an elementary school is $1.20 and lunch is $2. Reduced price is 30 cents for breakfast and 40 cents for lunch.

In a 175-day school year, a family could pay about $1,150 for full-priced lunch compared to $210 for reduced-price lunches.

The free and reduced-price school lunch program, because it is based on income, is considered an indicator of economic well-being. To qualify for free lunches, families can have income up to 130-percent above the federal poverty level, and up to 185-percent of the federal poverty level for reduced-price lunches.

The number of Franklin County youth who receive free and reduced-price lunches has been growing in recent years, according to data released in the annual Kids Count report. The report is compiled by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and looks at various indicators that affect children, including education, economic well-being and health.

About 37.03 percent of Franklin County youth received free and reduced-price lunches in 2008, the most recent year data was studied. That’s up from 34.61 percent in 2007 and 33.48 percent in 2006.

Area educators have said previously that it’s likely more students qualify for free and reduced-price lunches, but the families did not apply.

The program is funded by the federal government. School districts also receive additional money, called “at-risk funds,” for every student who qualifies for free meals.

If a school district has more than 40 percent of its students qualifying for free lunches, additonal weighting happens.

Some schools also use the program in conjunction with other benefits. The West Franklin district uses the program to determine if students qualify for deductions on book and technology fees, Superintendent Dotson Bradbury said.

Bradbury and other area superintendents, like Dean Katt at Ottawa, Jim Reece at Central Heights and Denise O’Dea at Wellsville, all said they have noticed more families applying for free and reduced-price lunches this year, too.

Salah, the single father, said he also received free lunches when his daughter attended school in Lawrence. He was familiar with the program when his daughter transferred to the Ottawa school, and said the application process is relatively simple.

He has talked to his daughter about the program, and she knows many of her friends also receive the benefit.

“She knows Dad works really hard,” he said. “She’s not embarassed.”

Some information for this article was provided by Courtney Servaes, Herald staff writer, from a previous article.